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A passenger car wheel weighs 20 to 30 kilograms, a commercial vehicle wheel up to 90. It has to be picked up, guided to the hub, turned and aligned with the studs – in cycle, hundreds of times a day, bent over or half kneeling beside the vehicle.
The wheel comes from the conveyor or a rack, is guided to the hub and turned there until the holes sit over the studs. Only then does tightening follow. The real effort lies in those last seconds: the wheel has to be held at height, kept level and turned about its axis at the same time – three movements at once, achievable by hand only with the whole body. Then there is posture. Hub height on a car is around 35 centimetres; offering the wheel up there means working in deep trunk flexion.
A usable wheel lifter picks the wheel up from inside or outside, holds it at an adjustable height and turns freely about the wheel axis. That third movement decides acceptance on the shop floor: if turning is stiff, the wheel gets turned by hand again – and the benefit is gone. We therefore design the rotation axis on ball bearings and without detents, with a defined brake that holds the wheel in place the moment the hand lets go.
If hub height stays roughly the same across models, a rope balancer with a wheel mount is the fastest and lightest answer. Where heights vary widely – cars, vans and commercial vehicles on one line – an articulated arm with a guided lifting axis is better: it holds the wheel steady at any height, even when the hand only guides and does not carry. That decision is made at the workstation, not in the catalogue.
Under the key indicator method wheel mounting scores badly less because of the 25 kilograms than because of the combination: load in front of the body, deep trunk flexion, turning under load, high repetition. A wheel lifter addresses all four criteria at once. That is why the benefit shows more clearly here than with many a heavier component that is moved ten times a day.
Weightless handling – floating instead of lifting.
View device Lifting equipment · ManipulatorsArticulated arm plus integrated lifting axis.
View device Lifting equipment · Conveyor systemsThe whole area covered – in X and Y.
View deviceWith constant hub height and light wheels the rope balancer is the faster answer. As soon as hub heights vary or wheels exceed 40 kilograms, the articulated arm with a guided lifting axis has the advantage – it holds the wheel at any intermediate height without the hand carrying any of it.
Yes, with a travelling suspension on a rail system or with a unit standing clear of the line and working with sufficient reach. Line speed and the space available alongside decide which design fits.
Installation itself is a matter of hours. Six to eight weeks from workstation survey to acceptance is realistic – the longer part is the wheel mount, which has to suit your rims and is usually a special design.
One short conversation usually settles more than three quotations. Call or write — you will reach an engineer directly.
Start typing – for example “balancer”, “SAP” or “pipe stress”.
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